Meet the Devs: Michelle “Shelly” Soneja del Mundo and Allen Arciaga, 2D Artists
In our Meet the Devs series, we’ll feature interviews of the Battle Racers team — our game artists, engineers, designers, and more. Today, let’s meet two of our 2D artists — Michelle “Shelly” Soneja del Mundo and Allen Arciaga.
Who we’re meeting today:
- Michelle “Shelly” Soneja del Mundo, Art Director — 10 years in game industry
- Allen Arciaga, 2D Artist — 7 years in game industry
What do you do on the team?
Shelly: I create concept art and oversee the production and quality of art assets produced.
Allen: I make game assets and help on marketing materials for web and prints.
What other games have you worked on?
Shelly: Run Run Super V, Holy Ship, Dream Defense, Kung Fu Clicker
Allen: Fairytale Games: The Battle Royale, Monster Fishing, Rival Threads: Last Class Heroes
Did you play in arcades growing up? How do you remember your experiences in the arcade?
Shelly: There was an arcade in the bowling alley where my parents and friends’ parents frequented when we were children. While the moms and dads were knocking down pins, us kids played in the arcades which were dark, dingy, noisy, and stank of cigarettes. I remember purchasing tokens (this was before the advent of swipe cards!) and playing games like OutRun, Puzzle Bobble, Captain Commando, Galaxy Fight, etc. I loved the energy and excitement as crowds gathered around the fighting game machines, cheering on their friends as well as heckling and psyching out their friends’ opponents. Part of the excitement, I suppose, was making sure that your tokens won’t get stolen and you didn’t get pick-pocketed but thankfully, that never happened to me. In spite of the shady environment (or should I say “because of”?), my experiences at the arcades have always been fun and thrilling.
Allen: Definitely! I used to tag along with my older brother in arcades. We’d spend our time and all our money playing mostly competitive fighting games like Rival Schools, Marvel vs. Capcom, Guilty Gear and Dance Dance Revolution.
What’s your favorite game, or what game made you want to be a game developer?
Shelly: There was not just one game that made me want to be a game developer as I’ve been playing and enjoying games ever since I could hold a controller. Point and click games like the Broken Sword and Gabriel Knight series gave me intriguing, compelling stories filled with mystery and secrets. RPGs like the Final Fantasy and Elder Scrolls series transported me into fantastical, magical worlds with the latter introducing me to the concept of open world games. Action games like Syphon Filter gave me the thrill and adrenaline rush I was looking for when I needed something more exciting. Because I enjoyed games and all the different experiences they give me, it just felt natural that I would eventually find myself in game development to help recreate those experiences for other people.
Allen: With so many awesome games out there, I think it would be a crime to pick just one of them over the others! But the first game I really liked was the classic Diablo game from PlayStation 1.
As for what solidified my choice in making art for videogames, it’s going to be Transistor by Supergiant Games and Vanillaware’s Muramasa: The Demon Blade and Odin Sphere. They are just too awesome. These two studios will always have a special place in my heart.
What excites you most about Battle Racers?
Shelly: I like the idea of being able to collect and build your own car with all the different parts we created. I also like that we’re sort of recreating the experience of playing in an arcade, minus the cigarettes and fear of getting your tokens stolen!
Allen: The competitiveness nature and customization it offers are what makes it really fun for me.
If you were a car, which brand and model would you be and why?
Shelly: The DeLorean from “Back to the Future” because not only is that film series one of my favorite, I always catch myself thinking about Time — all the shoulda woulda couldas and worrying about the future!
Allen: I’ve always been a huge fan of the Battle Racers Hyperion being the speed-type and on how its cars look in general. For me, speed and style is everything when I’m in-game.
Thanks for answering our questions, Shelly and Allen! Do you have a question you’d like our team to answer? Join us on Discord and let us know! Please follow us on social media for more posts like this one, and clap or share if you like this article.
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See you next time!
